Willie Mae Passed Away

Yesterday morning I received an email with the news that Willie Mae died that morning. She had cancer. I was surprised, Willie Mae was not supposed to die on June 21st.

Willie Mae worked at a hair salon in Houston, Texas for many years. She worked for Glennis and washed hair. My wife was a client, and then she introduced me and I started getting my hair cut by Glennis. My children grew up spending time there, while Cherry or they were getting haircuts.

Willie Mae lived a life of service. She washed hair before your hair was cut and was the first person you spent any time with at the shop. Since she knew my family she would always ask me about Miss Cherry, or the girls, or Charlie.

Willie lived a life of service at home as well. She raised her daughters and then her granddaughters and even some great grandchildren. She was very proud when her granddaughter graduated high in her class and was admitted to The University of Texas at Austin. After a year at UT her granddaughter decided to join the navy. She was based in San Diego and married inside the navy and gave birth to her own little sailor.

Willie Mae liked to cook for her extended family on holidays even though it was a lot of work. She loved to take the bus to Louisiana and visit the casinos. Willie loved to celebrate her birthday.

A couple of months ago, Cherry asked me to check on Willie Mae when I went for my haircut. She had heard Willie was sick. Willie was there and she washed my hair. She said the doctor had found a problem with her digestive system and wanted to do a surgery. She was checking on insurance before she did anything. She never gave any indication she had cancer.

Willie Mae spent her life caring for other people whether her family or customers. She ended our last conversation with the same question she usually did: How's Charlie?